This invention relates generally to methods and apparatuses for collecting particulates from a flow of air transported through a vacuum cleaner.
Conventional vacuum cleaners are widely available, and are useful in a number of cleaning applications. One type of vacuum cleaner, commonly known as the upright vacuum cleaner, is frequently used in both residential and commercial settings to remove particulates of various sizes from floor surfaces such as carpeting, wood flooring, or linoleum.
A typical upright vacuum cleaner according to the prior art is shown in FIG. 1. The upright vacuum cleaner 10 is comprised of a handle assembly 112 with a grip 118 mounted thereon. A collector bag assembly 120 is generally frontally positioned on the handle assembly 112 that serves as a receptacle for the collection of particulate matter. The vacuum cleaner 10 is further comprised of a wheel-mounted head assembly 20 pivotally coupled to the handle assembly 112 by a pivot 114. The head assembly 20 may be of any suitable construction, but is generally comprised of a housing with a top portion 202 and front and rear walls 200 and 208 that are joined by side walls 204 and 206. A protective bumper 210 is generally peripherally disposed on the head assembly 20 and projects outwardly from a lower edge of the front wall 200 and the side walls 204 and 206 to protect walls and room furnishings from potentially damaging impacts.
FIG. 2 shows a cutaway side view of the head assembly 20 of the prior art vacuum cleaner 10. As shown therein, the head assembly 20 is further comprised of a transversely extending rotating cylindrical brush 216 that has a plurality of brush elements 218 disposed thereon. The cylindrical brush 216 is generally supported by bearings (not shown) positioned in the side walls 204 and 206, and is rotationally driven by a motor (also not shown) recessed within the head assembly 20. A bottom panel 211 is suitably mounted beneath the housing walls that generally carry a rearwardly disposed set of support wheels 212, and a forwardly disposed set of support wheels 213. The bottom panel 211 is further comprised of an intake nozzle 115 surrounding the rotating brush 216, and positioned substantially close to a floor surface 110. The head assembly 20 is further comprised of a motor-driven blower 220 that is recessed within the head assembly 20 that has an intake opening 222 that is suitably fluidly coupled to the intake nozzle 115. The blower also has an exhaust outlet 224 that is suitably fluidly coupled to the outer bag assembly 120.
In normal use, the user of the upright vacuum cleaner grasps the grip 118 on the handle assembly 112 and reciprocally translates the head assembly 20 across the floor surface 110 while the cylindrical brush 216 rotates and brushes the surface 110 and the blower 220 is developing suction at the intake nozzle 115. Effective removal of particulate matter from the floor surface 110 is thus obtained through the combination of brushing the surface 110 to loosen embedded particulates, suctioning the loosened particulates away from the floor surface 110, and transferring the particulate matter into the collector bag assembly 120.
Although prior art upright vacuum cleaners are relatively efficient in cleaning floor surfaces that are spaced apart from intersecting surfaces, such as walls, baseboards, or portions of room furnishings, a particular difficulty is encountered in using upright vacuum cleaners to clean floor surface regions immediately adjacent to these intersecting surfaces. For example, referring again to FIG. 2, when the front wall 200 of the head assembly 20 is positioned frontally against a wall surface 224, the upright vacuum cleaner is generally unable to effectively clean the near comer region 225 since the vacuum cleaner cannot apply sufficient suction there. This problem is further aggravated by the presence of the protective bumper 210 that projects outwardly from a lower edge of the front wall 200 since the bumper 210 spaces the intake nozzle 115 substantially away from the near comer region 225. Consequently, since there exists an inability to effectively remove particulate debris in the near comer region 225, significant amounts of particulate debris accumulate there that cannot be effectively removed by prior art upright vacuum cleaners.
One attempted solution to this problem has been to provide supplemental openings that direct suction from the nozzle into the near comer region 225. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,499,628 to Platt, an apparatus structured lo selectively open and close a gate located in a front wall of a head assembly is described. In normal operation, the gate remains closed, and the supplemental opening, which is connected to a suction source, is inoperative. When the front wall of a vacuum cleaner head is frontally positioned near the intersecting region of the floor and the wall,; an actuator button contacts the wall and opens the supplemental opening, allowing additional suction to be applied to the near corner region. Although this apparatus is an improvement over the prior art, an inherent shortcoming in this approach is that it requires the installation of the actuator and gate assembly on a front wall of the vacuum cleaner head assembly: Since this area repeatedly sustains physical blows as the head contacts the walls in the room, and room furnishings, the actuator and gate assembly may be easily damaged, and thus rendered inoperable.
Another attempted solution to this problem is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,186 to Lessig, III, et al. As described therein, a rotating brush positioned within a head assembly is disposed immediately adjacent but rearwardly of a front wall of the head assembly. In one embodiment, the front wall is resiliently yieldable to enable the brush to more effectively clean the near comer region when the front wall of the head assembly is pushed against the baseboard, or wall of a room. In another embodiment, the front wall of the head assembly is structured to move upwardly and away from the rotating brush when the head assembly is pressed against a baseboard, or room wall. Although this apparatus similarly constitutes an improvement over prior art vacuum cleaner machines, it disadvantageously allows the rotating brush to contact the room wall surface, which may allow the rotating brush to be damaged as it contacts the surface, or alternatively may lead to damage of the baseboard, wall, or other surfaces that it contacts.
A front edge cleaning device for an upright vacuum cleaner is disclosed. The front edge cleaning assembly comprises a flexible, resilient member frontally disposed on the head assembly of an upright vacuum cleaner. In one aspect, the front edge cleaning device includes an elongated section having an upper section and a lower section with front and a rear faces, the rear face of the upper section being attached to the front wall of the vacuum cleaner and the lower section extending downwardly from the upper section and having the front face of the lower section beveled inwardly towards the rear face of the lower section to form an apical lower edge spaced apart from the floor with air openings positioned along the apical lower edge and projecting through the lower section. In another aspect, the front edge cleaning device includes an elongated section having an upper section and a lower section with front and rear faces, the rear face of the upper section being at least partially attached to the front wall of the vacuum cleaner and the lower section extending downwardly from the upper section and having the front face of the lower section offset inwardly towards the rear face of the upper section to form a lower offset edge spaced apart from the floor with a plurality of air openings positioned along the lower offset edge and projecting through the lower section.